December 1, 2024

China Launches Enhanced Zhuque-2 Rocket (Source: SpaceToday.net)
Zhuque-2E launch (Xinhua)Chinese launch startup Landspace put two satellites into orbit late Tuesday with the first launch of an improved version of its Zhuque-2 rocket. The Zhuque-2 enhanced version, or ZQ-2E, lifted off at 9:00 pm EST (0200 GMT Wednesday) Tuesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and placed into orbit the Guangchuan 01 and 02 satellites. Few details about the satellites were disclosed. The launch is the fourth for the Zhuque-2 and third successful one after a failed inaugural launch in late 2022. The ZQ-2E features an upgraded engine in the second stage and use of fully supercooled propellant loading. (11/29)

Japanese Astronauts Complete Training in Canada (Source: CSA)
In September 2024, Makoto Suwa and Ayu Yoneda, then astronaut candidates from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), completed eight days of robotics training at the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) Robotics Training Centre, in Longueuil, Quebec. The training focused on Canadarm2, which is one of the Canadian robotics on the International Space Station (ISS). (11/29)

Indian Astronauts Finish First Phase of Training for ISRO-NASA Joint Mission (Source: Gadgets 360)
The first phase of astronaut training for India's Gaganyaan mission, a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA, has been successfully completed. ISRO announced this milestone in an official statment, which confirmed that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the primary crew member, and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, the backup crew member, have concluded their initial training in the United States. The Gaganyaan mission, scheduled for late 2026, marks India's first human space flight. (11/30)

SpaceX Launches Could Cause More Environmental Damage Than Predicted, Study Says (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
Sonic booms from SpaceX launches could cause more structural and environmental damage than previously thought, according to a recently released study by Brigham Young University researchers. Data gathered from SpaceX’s Oct. 13 Starship Super Heavy launch showed these sonic booms, which produce sharp increases in atmospheric pressure, could have adverse impacts in Boca Chica and other South Texas coastal communities.

“It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard, for sure. You can feel the sound whipping over your body; it feels like it’s almost pushing you back sometimes,” BYU student and researcher Noah Pulsipher said in a Nov. 18 university report. “And then, all around me, car alarms are going off and dogs barking — things like that. It’s a powerful experience.” (11/30)

SpaceX Carries Starshield, Starlink Satellites from Vandenberg SFB (Source: Noozhawk)
The fifth Falcon 9 rocket launch of November from Vandenberg Space Force Base early Saturday also marked the fifth delivery to expand the nation’s spy satellite agency’s largest constellation. The brand-new first-stage booster for this mission successfully made its first landing returning to the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles south of Santa Barbara County. On board the rocket were a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office plus 20 Starlink satellites, according to SpaceX. (11/30)

Lockheed Martin Unveils Solar Power Array for Artemis Program (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin announced it completed critical tests of a lunar solar array prototype, demonstrating the technology’s potential for operating in the harsh environment of the moon’s south pole. 

The company developed one of three designs funded by NASA through approximately $20 million in contracts awarded in 2022 to Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics and Astrobotic as part of the agency’s broader push to establish a sustainable presence on the moon. Under a program known as Lunar Vertical Solar Array Technology (LVSAT), the three companies developed vertical solar arrays designed to be deployable, relocatable and self-leveling — able to autonomously extend and retract to maximize sunlight exposure. (11/30)

China's Seaside Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site Completes First Mission (Source: Xinhua)
The mission was the maiden flight of the Long March-12 carrier rocket, and the first launch mission undertaken by the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. The construction of the launch site, which is the first to be built for commercial missions in China, commenced in July 2022. With investment of over 4 billion yuan (about 553 million U.S. dollars), the launch site was built and is being operated by the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., Ltd. (HICAL). It includes a launch area, a TT&C (telemetry, tracking and command) building, rocket assembly buildings, spacecraft testing facilities, fuel storage facilities and other structures. (12/1)

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck Explains Why His Space Company Thinks Different (Source: Inc.)
Rocket Lab, one of the most interesting companies among the cluster of “new space” businesses upending the process of flying satellites to orbit, stands out from its rivals by being partly based on the other side of the planet in New Zealand. Its CEO Peter Beck also stands out from other space entrepreneurs for his sense of humor. In 2021 he famously ate a hat on camera because he’d once promised investors his company wouldn’t pursue making bigger rockets. Until it did, prompting his unusual meal. Click here. (12/1)

Explainer: China's Long March-12 Rocket (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a new carrier rocket into space on Saturday night from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site on the southern island province of Hainan. The Long March 12 was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. With a length of about 62 meters and a diameter of 3.8 meters, it features a two-stage design. It is currently the country's largest single-core carrier rocket in payload capacity.

The rocket is designed with a carrying capacity of no less than 12 tonnes in low Earth orbit and no less than 6 tonnes in 700-km sun-synchronous orbit, with its first stage using four liquid oxygen-kerosene engines. Its design allows the rocket to be transported by railway to various launch sites across the country. The rocket also uses a series of new technologies, including rocket health diagnostics management, cold helium pressurization, and aluminum-lithium alloy tanks. Its fairing has standard diameter configurations of 4.2 meters and 5.2 meters, which can be adapted to different mission requirements. (12/1)

Chinese Taikonauts Engage with Bulgarian Youth in Space Dialogue (Source: China Daily)
Three Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, connected with Bulgarian youth via video link on Saturday, sharing their experiences in space exploration and answering questions about life aboard the Tiangong space station. (12/1)

Musk's Plans for a City on Mars Will Likely End in Horrifying Mass Death (Source: Futurism)
In the short-term, however, the Red Planet could prove a great place for "lots of research," according to Kelly Weinersmith. "Maybe in our lifetime, we’ll see people land on Mars, do some exploration and come home, that could happen, but I don’t think we’re going to have babies on Mars," she said. Reproduction in particular could be a major problem due to the planet's immense amount of space radiation exposure. The effects of microgravity in space — or just 38 percent of Earth's gravity on the surface of Mars — could also be a major complicating factor.

"We were just surprised by how many problems we thought we had a handle on," Kelly told CNN. "But it turns out that we have very little relevant data for how adults will do, let alone how having babies would work out." To Musk, it's about the "excitement and adventure," he said. And those willing to turn a blind eye to his deeply twisted worldview will have to literally put their lives on the line to see his vision for a Mars colony through. "Not for the faint of heart," he added at the time. "Good chance you’ll die. And it’s going to be tough, tough going, but it’ll be pretty glorious if it works out." (11/30)